973.0496073 
0p3 


LOYAL    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 

863     IIKOADWAY. 

JVo.-  18. 

dpkiijiis  of  %  €i\\i})  ^^xislkwis, 


AND    OF    i'lIK 


FATHEKS    OF    THE    IIEFUBLIC, 


SLAVERY. 


IVEW    YOKK,    MAY,    1SG3. 


v 


NE#  YOEK: 

Wm.  0.  Bryant  Sc  Co.,  Printers,  41  Nassau  Street,  cor.  Liberty. 

18G3. 


LOYAL     PUBLICATION    SOCIETY 


The  objects  of  the  /Society  are  expressed  in  the  followiiig  liesoln- 
tion.  formally  adopted  hy  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Society^ 
at  its  first  Meeting,  l-i  February,  1863. 

Resolved,  That  the  object  of  this  organization  is,  and  shall  be  contined  to 
the  distribution  of  Journals  and  Documents  of  unquestionable  and  uncondi- 
tional loyalty  throughout  the  United  States,  and  particularly  in  the  Armies 
now  engaged  in  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion,  and  to  counteract,  as  far  as 
practicable,  the  efforts  iiow  being  made  by  the  enemies  of  the  Government 
and  the  advocates  of  a  disgraceful  peace  to  circulate  journals  and  documents 
of  a  dis^loval  character. 


Person.^  sympathising  with  the  objects  of  this  Society  and  wish- 
ing to  contribute  funds  for  its  support,  may  address 

MORRIS   KETCHUM,    Esq.,  r/va5w/'<?r,  40  Exchange  Place, 
For  which  Beceipts  will  be  promptly  returned. 


UNIVERSIWOF 

ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 

/^JURBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

BOOKSTACKS 


LOYAL    PUBLICATION    SOCIETY, 

863     BROADWAY. 


JVo,    18. 


#|)im0ii$  0f  %  ^arli)  |Jresiknts, 


AND    OF    THE 


FATHERS    OF   THE    REPUBLIC. 


SLAVERY, 


NEGROES  AS  MEN  AND  SOLDIERS. 


KEW  YORK: 

W>L  C.  BRYANT  &  CO.,  PRINTEES,  41  NASSAU  STREET,  CORNER  OP  UBESTT, 

1863. 


^- 


A  READING  ON  SLAVERY, 


FROM   THE 


EARLY    PRESIDENTS 


Prepared    for    the  Celebration  of    Washington's   Birthday 
at  Lyceum  Hall,  Salem,  February  ^2,  1863. 


George  Washi.vgton. — Isi  President. 

April  12,  1783,  to  Robert  Morris  : 

"  I  hope  it  will  not  be  conceived,  from  these  observations, 
that  it  is  mj  wish  to  hold  the  unhappy  people  who  are  the  sub- 
ject of  this  letter  in  slavery.  I  can  only  say,  that  there  is  not  a 
man  living  who  wishes  more  sincerely  than  I  do,  to  see  a  plan 
adopted  for  the  abolition  of  it." 

Sep.  0,  17S6,  to  John  F.  Mercer  : 

"  I  never  mean,  unless  some  particular  circumstance  should 
compel  me  to  it,  to  possess  another  slave  by  purchase,  it  being 
among  my  first  wishes  to  see  some  plan  adopted  by  which 
slavery  in  this  country  may  be  abolished  by  law." 

To  Sir  John  Sinclair,  11th  December,  1796  :  ■ 

"  The  ])resent  prices  of  lands  in  Pennsylvania  are  higher  than 
they  are  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  although  they  are  not  of 
superior  quality  ;  (among  other  reasons)  because  there  are  laws 
here  tor  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  which  neither  of  the 
two  States  above  mentioned  have  at  present,  but  which  nothing 
is  more  certain  tlian  they  must  have,  and  at  a  period  not 
remote." 

The  oth  of  February,  1783,  Lafayette  writes  : 

"Xow,  my  dear  General,  that  you  are  going  to  enjoy  some 
ease  and  quiet,  permit  me  to  propose  a  plan  to  you,  which 
migl'.t  become  greatly  beneficial  to  the  black  part  of  mankind. 
Let  us  unite  in  purchasing  a  small  estate,  where  we  may  try 
the  experiment  to  free  the  negroes,  and   use  them   only  as  ten. 


ants.  Such  an  example  as  yours  might  render  it  a  general 
practice;  and,  if  we  succeed  in  America,  I  will  clieerfully 
devote  a  part  of  my  time  to  render  the  method  fashionable  in 
the  West  Indies.  If  it  be  a  wild  scheme,  I  had  rather  be  mad 
in  this  way,  than  to  be  thought  wise  in  the  other  task." — Cor- 
resjpondence  of  the  American  Revolution^  vol.  iii.,  p.  547. 

To  this  letter  Washington  replies,  April  5th,  1783  : 

"The  scheme,  my  dear  Marquis,  which  you  propose  as  a 
precedent  to  encourage  tiie  emancipation  of  the  black  people 
in  this  country  from  that  state  of  bondage  in  which  they  are 
held,  is  a  striking  evidence  of  the  betievolence  of  your  heart. 
I  shall  be  happy  to  join  you  in  so  laudable  a  work,  but  will 
defer  going  into  a  detail  of  the  business  till  I  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you." — SparJis^  ^Vashington,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  414,  415. 

"  Mount  Veknon,  10th  May,  1786. 
"  The  benevolence  of  your  heart,  my  dear  Marquis,  is  so  con- 
spicuous upon  all  occasions,  that  I  never  wonder  at  any  fresh 
proofs  of  it;  but  your  late  purchase  of  an  estate  in  tiie  colony 
of  Cayenne,  with  a  view  of  emancipating  the  slaves  on  it,  is  a 
generous  and  noble  proof  of  your  humanity.  Would  to  God  a 
like  spirit  might  diffuse  itself  generally  into  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  this  country!  But  I  despair  of  seeing  it.  Some  pe- 
titions were  presented  to  the  Assembly,  at  its  last  se-sion,  for 
the  abolition  of  slavery  ;  but  they  could  scai-coly  obtain  a  read- 
ing. To  set  the  slaves  afloat  at  once  would,  I  r.'ally  believe,  be 
productive  of  much  inconvenience  and  mischief,  but  by  degrees 
it  certainly  might,  and  assuredly  ought  to  be  t'fl'ected,  and  that, 
too,  by  legislative  authority." 


John  Adams. — )ld  President. 
His  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  slavery  are  well  known. 
They  are  well  summed  up  in  the  language  of  a  letter  to  liobert 
I.  Evans,  June,  1819  : 

"  Every  measure  of  prudence,  therefore,  ought  to  be  assumed 
for  the  eventual  total  extirpation  of  slavery  trom  the  United 
States. 

"  I  have,  through  my  whole  life,  held  the  practice  of  slavery 
in  such  abhorrence,  that  I  have  never  owned  a  negro  or  any 
other  slave;  though  I  have  lived  for  many  years  in  times  when 
the  practice  was  not  disgraceful ;  when  the  best  men  in  my 
vicinity  thought  it  not  inconsistent  with  their  character ;  and 
when  it  has  cost  me  thousands  of  dollars  for  the  labor  and  sub- 


slstence  of  free  meu,  which  I  might  have  saved  by  the  i)nrchase 
of  negroes  at  times  when  they  were  very  cheap." —  Wo)'ks  of 
John  Adams,  voh  x.,  p.  380. 


Thomas  Jefferson. — 3cZ  President. 
From  Mr.  Jeffersoyi's  Original  Draft  of  the  Declaration  of 

Independence. 

He  has  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself,  violating 
its  most  sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty  in  the  persons  of  a  dis- 
tant people  who  never  offended  him  ;  captivating  and  carrying 
them  into  slavery  in  another  hemisphere,  or  to  incur  miserable 
death  in  their  transportation  thither.  This  piratical  warfare, 
the  opprobrium  of  Infidel  Powers,  is  the  warfare  of  the  Chris- 
tian King  of  Great  Britain.  Determined  to  keep  open  a  market 
where  nnen  should  be  bougiit  and  sold,  he  has  prostituted  his 
negative  for  suppressing  every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or 
restrain  this  execrable  commerce. 

From  Mr.  Jeffersonh  Minutes  of  Delates  in  1776,  on  the 
Dedaration  of  Independence.,  published  with  the  Madison 
Papers. 

The  clause,  too,  reprobating  the  enslaving  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Africa  was  struck  out,  in  compliance  to  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  who  had  never  attempted  to  restrain  the  importation 
of  slaves,  and  who,  on  the  contrary,  still  wished  to  continue  it. 
Our  northern  brethren,  also,  I  believe,  felt  a  little  tender  under 
those  censures;  for,  though  their  people  have  very  few  slaves 
themselves,  yet  they  had  been  pretty  considerable  carriers  of 
them  to  others. 

1781.  From  Notes  on  Virginia. 

There  must,  doubtless,  be  an  unhappy  influence  on  the  man- 
ners of  our  people,  produced  by  the  existence  of  slavery  among 
us.  The  whole  commerce  between  master  and  slave  is  a 
perpetual  exercise  of  the  most  boisterous  passions — the  most 
unremitting  despotism  on  tiie  one  part,  and  degrading  sub- 
missions on  the  other.  Our  children  see  this,  and  learn  to 
imitate  it;  for  man  is  an  imitative  animal.  This  quality  is  the 
germ  of  all  education  in  him.  From  his  cradle  to  his  grave,  he 
is  learning  to  do  what  he  sees  others  do.  If  a  parent  could  find 
no  motive,  either  in  his  philanthropy  or  his  self  love,  for  restrain- 
ing the  intemperance  of  passion  towards  his  slave,  it  should 


6 

always  be  a  sufficient  one  that  his  child  is  present.  But 
generally  it  is  not  sufficient.  The  parent  storms,  the  child  looks 
on,  catches  the  lineaments  of  wrath,  puts  on  the  same  airs  in  the 
circle  of  similar  slaves,  gives  a  loose  rein  to  the  worst  of 
passions;  and,  thus  nursed,  educated,  and  daily  exercised  in 
tyranny,  cannot  but  be  stamped  by  it  with  odious  peculiarities. 
The  man  must  be  a  prodigy  who  can  restrain  his  manners  and 
morals  iindepraved  by  such  circumstances.  And  with  what 
execration  should  the  statesman  be  loaded,  who,  permitting  one- 
half  the  citizens  thus  to  trample  on  the  rights  of  the  other, 
transforms  those  into  despots,  and  these  into  enemies  ;  destroys 
the  morals  of  the  one  part,  and  the  amo7'  j^citrice  of  the  other; 
for  if  a  slave  can  have  a  country  in  this  world,  it  must  be  any 
other  in  preference  to  that  in  which  he  is  born  to  live  and  labor 
for  another  ;  in  which  he  must  lock  up  the  faculties  of  his 
nature  ;  contribute,  as  far  as  depends  on  his  individual  endea- 
vors, to  the  evanishment  of  the  human  i-ace  ;  or  entail  his  own 
miseralile  condition  on  the  endless  generations  proceeding  from 
him.  With  tiie  morals  of  the  people,  their  industry  also  is  des- 
troyed ;  for,  in  a  warm  climate,  no  man  will  labor  for  himself 
who  can  make  another  labor  for  him.  This  is  so  true,  that 
of  the  proprietois  of  slaves  a  very  small  proportion,  indeed,  are 
even  seen  to  labor.  And  can  the  liberties  of  a  nation  be 
thought  secure,  when  we  have  removed  their  only  firm  basis — a 
conviction  in  the  minds  of  the  people  that  these  liberties  are  the 
gift  of  God  ?  that  they  are  not  to  be  violated  but  with  his  wrath  ? 
Indeed,  I  tremble  for  my  country  when  1  reflect  that  God 
is  just;  that  his  justice  cannot  sleep  forever  ;  that,  considering 
numbers,  nature,  and  natural  means,  only,  a  revolution  of  the 
wheel  of  fortune,  an  exchange  of  situation,  is  among  possible 
events  ;  that  it  may  become  probable  by  supernatural  interfer- 
ence !  The  Almighty  has  no  attribnte  which  can  take  side  with 
us  in  such  a  contest.  But  it  is  impossible  to  be  temperate  and  to 
pursue  this  subject  through  thg  various  considerations  of  policy, 
of  morals,  of  history,  natural  and  civil.  We  must  be  contented 
to  hope  they  will  force  their  way  into  every  one's  mind.  I 
think  a  change  already  perceptible,  since  the  origin  of  the 
present  Revolution.  The  spirit  of  the  master  is  abating,  that  of 
the  slave  rising  from  the  dust,  his  condition  mollifying,  the  way 
T  hope  preparing,  under  the  auspices  of  Heaven,  for  a  total 
emancipation  ;  and  that  this  is  disposed,  in  the  order  of  events, 
to  be  with  the  consent  of  the  masters,  j'ather  than  by  their 
extirpation. 

And  again,  speaking  of  the  negro  : 

Whether  further  observation  will  or  will  not  verify  the  con- 


jecture,  that  nature  lias  been  less  bountiful  to  them  in  the  en 
downients  of  the  head,  I  believe  that  in  those  of  the  lieart  she 
will  be  found  to  have  done  them  justice.  That  disposition  to 
theft  with  which  they  have  been  branded,  must  be  ascribed  to 
their  situation,  and  not  to  any  depravity  of  the  moral  sense. 
The  mail  in  whose  favor  no  laws  of  property  existed,  probably 
feels  himself  less  bound  to  respect  those  made  in  fiivor  of  others. 
When  arguing  for  ourselves,  we  lay  it  down  as  a  fundamental, 
that  laws,  to  be  just,  must  give  a  reciprocation  of  right;  that 
without  this,  tiiey  are  mere  arbitrary  rules  of  conduct,  founded 
in  force,  and  not  in  conscience  ;  and  it  is  a  problem  which  I 
give  the  master  to  solve,  whether  the  religious  precepts  against 
tiie  violation  of  property  were  not  framed  for  him  as  well  as  his 
slave?'  And  whether  the  slave  may  not  as  justifiably  take  a 
little  from  one  who  has  taken  all  from  him,  as  lie  may  slay  one 
who  would  slay  him  ?  That  a  change  in  the  relations  in  which 
a  man  is  placed  should  change  his  ideas  of  moral  right  or 
wrong,  is  neither  new  nor  peculiar  to  the  color  of  the  blacks. 
Homer  tells  us  it  was  so  2,600  years  ago. 

Jove  fix'd  it  certain,  that  whatevex*  day 
Malies  man  a  slave,  talces  half  his  worth  away. 

But  the  slaves  of  which  Homer  speaks  were  whites.  Not- 
withstanding these  considerations,  which  must  weaken  their 
respect  for  the  laws  of  propert}^,  we  find  among  them  numerous 
instances  of  the  most  rigid  integrity,  and  as  many  as  among 
their  better  instructed  masters,  of  benevolence,  gratitude,  and 
unshaken  fidelity.  The  opinion  that  they  are  inferior  in  the  ' 
faculties  of  reason  and  imagination,  must  be  hazarded  with 
great  diffidence. 

1786.  To  a  Friend  in  Fro.nce. 
What  a  stupendous,  what  an  incomprehensible  machine  is 
man  !  who  can  endure  toil,  famine,  stripes,  imprisonment,  and 
death  itself,  in  vindication  of  his  own  liberty,  and  the  next  mo- 
ment be  deaf  to  all  those  motives  whose  power  supported  him 
through  his  trial,  and  inflict  on  his  fellow-men  a  bondage,  one 
hour  of  which  is  fraught  with  more  misery  than  ages  of  that 
which  he  rose  in  rebellion  to  oppose.  But  we  must  await,  with 
patience,  the  workings  of  an  overruling  Providence,  and  hope 
that  that  is  preparing  the  deliverance  of  those  our  sufiering 
In-ethren.  Wiien  the  measure  of  their  tears  shall  be  full,  when 
their  groans  shall  have  involved  heaven  itself  in  darkness, 
doubtless  a  God  of  Justice  will  awaken  to  their  distress,  and, 
by  difi'using  light  and  liberalit}''  among  ther  oppressors,  or  at 
length  by  his  exterminating  tliunder,  manifest  his  attention  to 
tlie  tilings  of  this  world,  and  that  they  are  not  left  to  the 
guidance  of  a  blind  fatality. 


jAiiES  Madison. — 4t/i  President. 

From  Mr.  Madisoii's  Report  of.  Debates  in  the  Federal  Gon- 

vention. 

Mr.  Madison  :  "We  have  seen  the  mere  distinction  of  color 
made,  in  the  most  enlightened  period  of  time,  a  ground  of  the 
most  oppressive  dominion  ever  exercised  by  man  over  man. 

Mr.  Madison  :  And,  in  the  third  place,  where  slavery  exists, 
the  republican  theory  becomes  still  more  fallacious. 

Mr.  MADISON  THOUGHT  IT  WEONG  TO  ADMIT, 
m  THE  CONSTITUTION,  THE  IDEA  THAT  THERE 
COULD  BE  PEOrERTY  IN  MEN. 

Mr.  Madison  to  Joseph  Joiics. — [Extract.^ 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  28,  1780. 
Yours  of  the  JSth  came  yesterday.  I  am  glad  to  find  the 
Legislature  persist  in  their  resolution  to  recruit  their  line  of  the 
army  for  the  war ;  though  without  deciding  on  the  expediency 
of  the  mode  under  their  consideration,  would  it  not  be  as  well 
to  liberate  and  make  soldiers  at  once  of  the  blacks  themselves, 
as  to  make  them  instruments  for  enlisting  white  soldiers  ?  It 
would  certainly  be  more  consonant  with  the  principles  of 
liberty,  which  ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  a  contest  for 
liberty. 


James  Monroe. — Uh  President. 

Extract  of  a  speech  from  Ex-President  Monroe^  delivered  in 
the  Vircfinia  State  Convention  for  altering  the  Constitution, 
Nov.  %l,  1829. 

"  What  has  been  the  leading  spirit  of  this  State,  ever  since 
our  independence  was  obtained?  She  has  always  declared  her- 
self in  favor  of  the  equal  rights  of  man.  The  revolution  was 
conducted  on  that  principle.  Yet  there  was  at  that  time  a  slavish 
population  in  Virginia.  We  hold  it  in  the  condition  in  which 
the  revolution  found  it,  and  what  can  be  done  Avith  this  popu- 
lation ? 

"  Sir,  what  brought  us  together  in  the  revolutionary  war  ?  It 
was  the  doctrine  of  equal  rights.  Each  part  of  the  country 
encouraged  and  supported  every  other  part  of  it.     None  took 


B 

advantage  of  tlie  others'  distresses.  And  if  we  find  that  tliis 
evil  has  jirej^ed  uijon  the  vitals  of  tlie  Union,  and  has  been 
prejudicial  to  all  the  States  where  it  has  existed,  cmd  u_  like-^ 
wise  i^epugnant  to  their  several  State  Constitutions  and  Bills  of 
Eights,  why  may  we  not  expect  that  they  will  unite  with  us  in 
acconiplisiiing  its  removal  1  If  we  make  the  attempt,  and  can- 
not accomplish  it,  tlie  effect  will  at  least  be  to  abate  the  great 
number  of  petitions  and  memorials  which  are  continually  pour- 
ing in  upon  the  Government.  This  matter  is  before  the  na- 
tion, and  the  principles  and  consequences  involved  in  it  are 
of  the  highest  importance.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  self-preser- 
vation demands  of  us  union  in  our  councils. 

"What  was  the  origin  of  our  slave  population?  The  evil 
commenced  when  we  were  in  our  colonial  state,  but  acts  were 
passed  by  our  colonial  Legislature,  prohibiting  the  importation 
of  more  slaves  into  the  colony.  These  were  rejected  W  the 
Crown.  We  declared  our  independence,  and  the  prohibition 
of  a  further  importation  was  among  the  first  acts  of  State  sover- 
eignty. Virginia  was  the  first  State  which  instructed  her  dele- 
giUes"  to  declare  the  Colonies  independent.  She  braved  all 
dangers.  From  Quebec  to  Boston,  and  from  Boston  to  Savannah, 
Virginia  shed  the  blood  of  her  sons.  No  imputation,  then,  can 
be  cast  upon  her  in  this  matter.  She  did  all  that  was  in  her 
■power  to  dOj  to  ^^'event  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  to  mitigate 
its  evils." 


The  views  of  slavery  entertained  by  Jr.nN  Quixcy  Adams, 
6th  President  of  the  United  States,  are  too  faiuiliar  to  be  quoted. 


This  Reading  from  the  Presidents  closes  with  the  Proclanni- 
tions  of  Gen.  Jackson,  7th  President,  inviting  the  negroes  of 
Louisiana  to  arms  in  1814. 

Headquarters,  Ttu  Military  District,  ) 
Mobile,  Sept.  21,   1814.  j 

To  tlie  Free  Colored  Inhabitants  of  Louisiana. 
Through  a  mistaken    policy,  you   have  heretofore  been  de- 
prived of  a    participation  in  the  glorious  struggle  for  national 
rights  in  which  our  country  is  engaged.     This  no  longer  shall 
exist. 


10 

As  sons  of  freedom,  you  are  now  called  upon  to  defend  our 
most  inestimable  blessing.  As  Americans,  your  country  looks 
uith  confidence  to  her  adopted  cliildren  for  a  valorous  support, 
as  a  faithful  return  for  tlie  advantages  enjoyed  under  her  mild 
and  equitable  government.  As  fathers,  husbands,  and  brotliers, 
you  are  summoned  to  rally  around  the  standard  of  the  Eagle, 
to  defend  all  whicli  is  dear  in  existence. 

lour  country,  although  calling  for  yonr  exertions,  does  not 
wish  you  to  engage  in  iier  cause  without  amply  remunerating 
you  for  the  services  rendered.  Your  intelligent  minds  are  not 
to  be  led  away  by  false  representations.  Your  love  of  honor 
would  cause  yon  to  despise  the  man  who  should  attempt  to 
deceive  you.  In  the  sincerity  of  a  soldier  and  the  language  of 
truth  I  address  you. 

To  every  noble-hearted,  generous  freeman  of  color,  volunteer- 
ing to  serve  during  the  present  contest  vvitli  Great  Britain,  and 
no  longer,  there  will  be  paid  the  same  bounty,  in  money  and 
lands,  now  received  by  the  white  soldiers  of  the  United  States, 
viz.,  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  dollars  in  money,  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  The  non-cosnmissioned  officers 
and  privates  will  also  be  entitled  to  the  same  monthly  pay  and 
daily  rations,  and  clothes,  furnished  to  any  American  soldier. 

On  enrolling  yourselves  in  companies,  the  Major-General 
commanding  will  select  officers  for  your  government  from  your 
white  fellow- citizens.  Your  non-commissioned  officers  will  be 
appointed  from  among  yourselves. 

Due  I'egard  will  be  paid  to  the  feelings  of  freemen  and  sol- 
diers. Y"ou  will  not,  by  being  associated  with  white  men  in 
the  same  corps,  be  exposed  to  improper  comparisons  or  unjust 
sarcasm.  As  a  distinct,  independent  battalion  or  regiment,  pur- 
suing the  path  of  glory,  you  will,  undivided,  receive  the  ap- 
plause and  gratitude  of  your  countrymen. 

To  assure  you  of  the  sincerity  of  my  intentions,  and  my  anx- 
iety to  engage  your  invaluable  services  to  our  country,  I  have 
communicated  my  wishes  to  the  governor  of  Louisiana,  who  is 
fully  infoi'med  as  to  the  manner  of  enrolment,  and  will  give  you 
every  necessary  information  on  the  subject  of  this  address. 

Anduiow  Jacksox, 
Major-General  Ooujmanding. 


11 

General  Jackson's  Address  to  the  "Men  of  Color,"  on  the 
IStii  of  December,  1814,  at  New  Orleans. 

Soldiers  :  From  tlie  shores  of  Mobile  I  collected  jon  to  arms. 
I  invited  you  to  share  the  perils  and  to  divide  the  glory  of  your 
■white  countr3'men.  I  exj)ected  much  from  you,  for  I  was  not 
iiuinfornied  of  those  qualities  which  must  render  you  so  formid- 
able to  an  invading;  foe.  I  knew  that  you  could  endure  hunger 
and  thirst,  and  all  ti)e  hardships  of  war.  I  knew  that  you  loved 
the  land  of  your  nativity,  and  that,  like  ourselves,  you  had  to 
defend  all  that  is  most  dear  to  man.  But  you  surpass  my  hopes. 
1  have  found  in  you,  lonited  to  these  qualities,  that  noble  enthu- 
siasm ivhich  impels  to  great  deeds. 

Soldiers:  The  President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  informed 
of  your  conduct  on  the  present  occasion,  and  the  voice  of  the 
representatives  of  the  American  nation  shall  applaud  your  valor, 
as  your  general  now  ])raises  your  ardor.  The  enemy  is  near: 
his  '^  sail's  cover  the  lakes:"  but  the  brave  are  united,  and  if  he 
finds  us  contending  among  ourselves,  it  will  be  for  the  prize  of 
valor  and  tame,  its  noblest  reward. 

By  command,  Tiios.  L.  Butler, 

Aid  de  Camp. 

(See  Niles'  Kegister,  Vol.  A'll.,  p.  346.)       . 


A  Private  Letter  Written  hy  General  Jackson,  on  the  Xst  of 
May,  1833,  to  Rev.  A.  J.  Crawford. 

"  I  have  had  a  laborious  task  here  ;  but  nullification  is  dead, 
and  its  actors  and  courtiers  will  only  be  remembered  by  the 
people  to  be  execrated  for  their  wicked  designs  to  sever  and 
destroy  the  only  good  government  on  the  globe,  and  that  pn^s- 
perity  and  happiness  we  enjoy  over  every  other  portion  of  the 
world.  Ilaman's  gallows  ought  to  be  the  fate  of  all  such  am- 
bitious men,  who  would  involve  the  country  in  civil  war,  and 
all  the  evils  in  its  train,  that  they  might  reign  and  ride  on  its 
whirlwinds,  and  direct  the  storm.  The  free  people  of  these 
United  States  have  spoken,  and  consigned  these  demagogues  to 
their  proper  doom.  Take  care  of  your  nullifiers  you  have 
amongst  you.  Let  them  meet  the  indignant  frowns  of  every 
man  who  loves  his  country.  The  tariff,  it  is  now  known,  was  a 
mere  pretext,  and  disunion  and  a  Southern  Confederacy  the 
real  object.  The  next  pretext  will  be  the  negro,  or  the  slavery 
question." 


12 

WHAT   THE   FATHERS   THOUGHT   OF   THE 

BLACKS  AS  SLAVES,  AS  SOLDIERS, 

AND  AS   MEN. 

A  reading  prepared  for  the  celebration  of  "Wasliington's 
birtli-day  at  Lyceum  Hall,  Salem,  Massachusetts,  A.  D.  1SG3. 

An  address  to  the  Public,  from  the  Pennsylvania  Society  for 
promoting  the  abolition  of  slaverj^,  and  the  relief  of  free  ne- 
groes unlawfully  held  in  bondage. 

It  is  with  peculiar  satisfaction  we  assure  the  friends  of  hu- 
manity, that  in  prosecuting  the  design  of  our  association,  our 
endeavors  have  proved  successful,  far  be3-ond  the  most  san- 
guine expectations. 

Encoui-age.d  by  this  success,  and  by  the  daily  progress  of  that 
luminous  and  benign  spirit  of  liberty  which  is  diffusing  itself 
throughout  the  world,  and  humbly  hoping  for  the  continuance 
of  the  divine  blessing  on  our  labors,  we  have  ventured  to  make 
an  im)iortant  addition  to  our  original  plan,  and  do  therefore 
earnestly  solicit  the  support  and  assistance  of  all  who  can  feel 
the  tender  emotions  of  sympathy  and  compassion,  or  relish  the 
exalted  pleasure  of  benevolence. 

Shivery  is  such  an  atrocious  debasement  of  human  nature, 
that  its  A'ery  extirpation,  if  not  performed  with  solicitous  care, 
may  sometimes  open  a  source  of  serious  evil. 

The  unhappy  man,  who  has  long  been  treated  as  a  brute  ani- 
mal, too  frequently  sinks  beneatli  the  common  standard  of  the 
hunum  species.  The  galling  chains  that  bind  liis  body,  do  also 
fetter  his  intellectual  t\iculties,  and  imi)air  the  social  affections 
of  his  heart.  Accustomed  to  move  like  a  mere  machine,  by 
the  will  <^f  a  mastei',  reflection  is  suspended ;  he  has  not  the 
power  of  choice,  and  reason  and  conscience  have  but  little  influ- 
ence over  his  conduct,  because  he  is  chiefly  govci'ued  by  the 
passion  of  fear.  He  is  poor  and  friendless,  i>erhaps  worn  out 
b}'  extreme  labor,  age,  and  disease. 

Under  such  circumstances,  fi'eedom  may  often  prove  a  mis- 
fortune to  himself,  and  prejudicial  to  society. 

Attention  to  emancipated  black  people,  it  is  therefore  to  be 
hoped,  will  become  a  branch  of  our  national  police;  but  so  far 
as  we  contiibute  to  promote  this  emancipation,  so  far  that  at- 
tention is  evidently  a  serious  duty  incumbent  on  us,  and 
which  we  mean  to  discharo-e  to  the  best  of  our  iudjiment  and 
abilities. 

To  instruct,  to  advise,  to  qualify  those  who  have  been  restored 
to  freedom,  for  the  exercise   and  enjoyment  of  civil  liberty,  to 


13 

promote  in  them  habits  of  industry,  to  furnish  them  with  em- 
ployments suited  to  their  age,  sex,  talents,  and  otlier  circum- 
stances, and  to  procure  their  children  an  education  calculated 
for  their  future  situation  in  life — these  are  the  great  outlines  of 
the  annexed  plan,  which  we  have  ado]»ted,  and  which  v,e  con- 
ceive will  essentially  promote  the  public  good,  and  the  happi- 
ness of  these  our  hitherto  too  much  neglected  fellow-creatures. 
Signed,  by  order  of  the  Society, 

President. 
Philadelphia,  :N'"ovember  9,  1789. 

The  last  public  act  of  Franklin's  life  w^ns  the  signing,  as  Pres- 
ident of  the  same  society,  of  the  following  memorial  to  Con- 
gress, The  society  was  as  old  as  1774 — the  first  of  the  kind  in 
the  country. 

"The  memorial  respectfully  showeth, — 

"That,  from  a  regard  for  the  happiness  of  mankind,  an  associ- 
ation was  formed  several  years  since  in  this  State,  by  a  number  of 
her  citizens,  of  vaiious  religious  denominations,  for  promoting 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  for  the  relief  of  those  unlawfully 
held  in  bondage.  A  just  and  acute  conception  of  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  liberty,  as  it  spread  through  the  land,  produced  acces- 
sions to  their  numbers,  many  friends  to  their  cause  and  a  legis- 
lative co-operation  with  tlieir  views,  which,  by  the  blessing  of 
Divine  Providence,  have  been  successfully  directed  to  the  re- 
lieving from  bondage  a  large  number  of  their  fellow  cnatures 
of  the  African  race.  They  have  also  the  satisfaction  to  obseive 
that,  in  consequence  of  that  spirit  of  philanthropy  and  genuine 
liberty  which  is  generally  diffusing  its  beneficial  influence,  sim- 
ilar institutions  are  forming  at  home  and  abroad. 

"That  mankind  are  all  formed  by  the  same  Almighty  Being, 
alike  objects  of  his  care,  and  erpially  designed  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  happiness,  the  Christian  religion  teaches  us  to  believe, 
and  the  political  creed  of  Americans  fully  coincides  with  the 
position.  Your  memorialists,  particularly  engaged  in  attending 
to  the  distresses  arising  from  slavery,  believe  it  their  indispens- 
able duty  to  present  this  subject  to  your  notice.  They  have 
observed,  with  real  satisfaction,  that  many  important  and 
salutary  powers  are  vested  in  you  for  '  promoting  the  welfare 
and  securing  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  the  people  of  tlie  Urn  tea 
States;'  and  as  they  conceive  that  these  blessings  ought  right- 
fully to  be  administered,  without  distinction  of  color,  to  all  de- 
scriptions of  people,  so  they  indulge  themselves  in  the  pleasing 
expectation,  that  nuthing  which  can  be  done  tor  the  relief  of  the 
unhappy  objects  of  their  care,  will  be  either  omitted  or  delayed. 


u 

"From  a  persuasion  that  equal  liberty  was  originality  the  por- 
tion, and  is  still  the  birthright  of  all  men  ;  and  influenced  by 
the  strong  ties  of  humanity,  and  the  princijiles  of  their  institu- 
tion, your  memorialists  conceive  themselves  bound  to  use  all 
justifiable  endeavors  to  loosen  the  bands  of  slavery,  and  pro- 
mote a  general  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  freedom.  Under 
these  impressions,  they  earnestly  entreat  your  serious  attention 
to  the  subject  of  slavery,  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  counte- 
nance the  restoration  of  libei't}^  to  those  uidiappy  men,  who, 
alone  in  this  land  of  freedom,  are  degraded  into  perpetual 
bondage,  and  who,  amidst  the  general  joy  of  surrounding  free- 
men, are  groaning  in  servile  subjection  ;  that  3'ou  will  devise 
means  for  I'emoving  this  inconsistency  from  the  cliaracter  of  the 
American  jioople  ;  that  3-ou  will  promote  mercy  and  justice  to- 
wards this  distressed  race  ;  and  that  you  will  step  to  the  very 
verge  of  the  jiower  vested  in  you  for  discouraging  ever}^  species 
of  traffic  in  the  ])ersons  of  our  fellow-men. 

"  Benj,  Franklin,  President. 

"  Philadelphia,  February  3,  1790." 

(Annals  of  Congress,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1197.) 

Lafayette  said,  "  I  would  never  have  drawn  my  sword  in  the 
cause  of  America,  could  I  have  conceived  that  thereby  I  was 
founding  a  land  of  Slavery." 

In  his  letter  to  John  Adams  in  1786,  occur  these  words : 

"  In  the  cause  of  my  black  bretliren,  I  feel  myself  warmly 
interested,  and  most  decidedly  side,  so  far  as  respects  them, 
against  the  white  part  of  mankind.  Whatever  be  the  com- 
plexion of  the  enslaved,  it  does  not,  in  my  opinion,  alter  the 
complexion  of  the  crime  which  the  enslaver  commits — a  crime 
mucii  blacker  than  any  African  lace.  It  is  to  me  a  matter  of 
great  anxiety  and  concern,  to  find  that  this  trade  is  sometimes 
perpetrated  under  the  flag  of  liberty,  our  dear  and  noble  stripes, 
to  which  virtue  and  glory  have  been  constant  standard-bearers." 
— Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  vol.  viii,,  p.  376. 

John  Randolph's  will  contains  these  words: 

"I  give  to  my  slaves  their  freedom,  to  which  my  conscience 
tells  me  they  are  justly  eniitled.  It  has  long  been  a  matter  of 
the  deepest  regret  to  me,  that  the  circumstances  under  which 
I  inherited  them,  and  the  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way  by  the 
laws  of  the  land,  have  ])revented  my  emancipating  them  in  my 
lifetime,  which  it  is  my  full  intention  to  do,  in  case  1  can  ac- 
complish it." 

The  Virginia  State  Convention  of  1771:.  resolved  that 

For  tlie  most  trilling  reasons,  and  sometimes  for  no  concciva- 


15 

Lie  reasons  at  all,  his  Majesty  has  rejected  laws  of  the  most 
salntar}^  tendency.  The  abolition  of  domestic  slavery  is  the 
greatest  object  of  desire  in  these  colonies  where  it  was  intro- 
duced in  their  infant  state.  But,  previous  to  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  slaves  we  have,  it  is  necessary  to  exclude  all  further 
importations  from  Africa.  Yet  our  repeated  attempts  to  effect 
this  by  prohibitions,  and  by  imposing  duties  wdiich  might 
amount  to  a  prohibition,  have  been  hitherto  defeated  by  his 
Majesty's  negative;  thus  preferring  the  immediate  advantages 
of  a  few  African  corsairs  to  the  lasting  interests  of  the  Ameri- 
can States,  and  to  the  rights  of  human  nature,  deeply  wounded 
by  this  infamous  practice. 

John  Jay,  1st  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  writes, 
while  minister  to  Spain,  of  the  abolition  of  slavery : 

"  Till  America  comes  into  this  measure,  her  prayers  to 
Heaven  will  be  impious.  This  is  a  strong  expression,  but  1  be- 
lieve it  is  just.  I  believe  that  God  governs  the  world,  and  I 
believe  it  to  be  a  maxim  in  His,  as  in  our  courts,  that  those  who 
ask  for  equity  ought  to  do  equity." 

Eoger  B.  Taney,  the  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  was  called  upon,  in  1819,  to  defend  Rev.  Jacob  Gruber, 
a  minister  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  who  was  tried  in  the  Frederick  County  Court, 
Maryland,  for  "  attempting  to  excite  insubordination  and  insur- 
rection among  slaves,"  by  preaching  a  sermon  in  which  he  set 
forth  the  evils  of  slavery  and  the  duties  of  masters.  In  his  ar- 
gument, Mr.  Taney  said  : 

"  Mr.  Gruber  did  quote  the  language  of  our  great  act  of 
National  Independence,  and  insisted  on  the  principles  contained' 
in  that  venerated  instrument.  He  did  rebuke  those  masters 
who,  in  the  exercise  of  power,  are  deaf  to  the  calls  of  humanity; 
and  he  w'arned  them  of  the  evils  they  might  bring  upon  them- 
selves. He  did  speak  with  abhorrence  of  those  reptiles  who 
live  by  trading  in  liuman  flesh,  and  enrich  themselves  by  tear- 
ing the  husband  from  the  wife,  the  infant  from  the  bosom  of  the 
mother  ;  and  this  I  am  instructed  was  the  head  and  front  of  his 
oft'ending.  Shall  I  content  myself  with  saying  he  had  a  right 
to  do  this  ?  that  there  is  no  law  to  punisii  him  ?  So  far  is  he 
from  being  the  object  of  punishment  in  any  form  of  proceedings, 
that  we  are  prepared  to  maintain  the  same  principles,  and  to 
use,  if  necessary,  the  same  language  here  in  tiie  temple  of  jus- 
tice, and  in  the  presence  of  those  who  are  the  ministers  of  tho 
law\     A  hard  necessity,  indeed,  compels  us  to  endure  the  evils 


16 

of  slavery  for  a  time.  It  was  imposed  upon  us  by  another 
ration,  while  we  were  yet  in  a  state  of  colonial  vassalai^e.  It 
cannot  b'e  easily  or  suddenly  removed.  Yet  while  it  continues, 
it  is  a  Hot  on  o\ir  national  chara.ctei\  and  every  real  lover  of 
freedom  coniidently  hopes  that  it  will  be  elfectually,  though  it 
wnll  be  gradually,  wiped  away;  and  earnestly  looks  for  the 
means  by  which  this  necessary  object  may  be  best  attained. 
And  ujitil  it  shall  be  accomplished,  until  tiic  time  shall  come 
when  we  can  point,  without  a  blush,  to  the  language  held  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  every  friend  of  humanity  will 
seek  to  lighten  the  galling  chain  of  slavery,  and  better,  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power,  the  wretched  condition  of  the  slave.  Such 
was  Mr.  Gruber's  object  in  that  part  of  his  sermon  of  which  I 
am  now  speaking.  Those  who  have  complained  of  him,  and 
reproached  him,  will  not  find  it  easy  to  answer  him  ;  unless  com- 
plaints, reproaches,  and  persecution  shall  be  considered  an 
answer." 

Alexander  Hamilton  wrote  to  an  American  Tory,  in  ITT-i  : 

"  The  fundamental  source  of  all  your  errors,  sophisms,  and 
false  reasonings,  is  a  total  ignorance  of  the  natural  rights  of 
mankind — were  you  once  to  become  acquainted  with  these,  you 
could  never  entertain  a  thought  that  all  men  are  not  by  nature 
entitled  to  equal  privileges.  You  would  be  convinced  that 
natural  liberty  is  a  gift  of  a  beneficent  Creator  to  the  whole 
human  race;  and  that  civil  liberty  is  founded  on  tliat." 

And  to  John  Jay : 

''  Headquarters,  March  14,  1779. 

"  To  John  Jay  : 

"  Dear  Sir,' — Col.  Laurens,  who  will  have  the  honor  of  deliv- 
ering you  this  letter,  is  on  his  way  to  South  Carolina,  on  a  pro- 
ject which  1  think,  from  the  present  state  of  atfairs  there,  is  a 
very  good  one,  and  deserves  every  kind  of  support  and  encou- 
ragement. This  is,  to  raise  two,  three,  or  four  battalions  of 
ne'gioes,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Government,of  that  State,  by 
contributions  from  the  owners,  in  proportion  to  the  number  they 
possess.  If  you  should  think  proper  to  enter  into  the  subject 
with  him,  he  will  give  you  a  detail  of  his  plan.  He  wishes  to 
have  it  recommended  by  Congress  to  the  State ;  and,  as  au_  in- 
ducement, that  they  should  engage  to  take  these  battalions  into 
Continental  pay. 

"  It  appears  to  me,  that  an  expedient  of  this  kind  in  the 
present  state  of  Southern  afiairs,  is  tiie  most  rational  that  can  be 
adopted,  and  promifes  very  important  advantages.  Indeed,  I 
hardly  see  how  a  sufficient*^  force  can  be  collected  in  that  quar- 
ter without  it ;   and  the  enemy's  operations  there  are  growing 


1^ 

infinitely  more  serious  and  formidable.  I  liave  net  the  least 
doubt  that  the  negroes  will  make  very  excellent  soldiers 
■with  proper  management;  and  I  will  venture  to  pronounce, 
that  thej  cannot  be  put  into  better  hands  than  those  of  Mr. 
Lanrens.  He  has  all  the  zeal,  intelligence,  enterprise,  and  every 
other  qualification  necessary  to  succeed  in  such  an  undertaking. 
It  is  a  maxim  with  some  great  military  judges,  that,  with  sens- 
ible ofhcers,  soldiers  can  hardly  be  too  stupid  ;  and,  on  this 
principle,  it  is  thought  that  the  Russians  would  make  the  best 
troops  in  the  world,  if  they  were  under  other  officers  than  their 
own.  The  King  of  Prussia  is  among  the  number  who  maintain 
this  doctrine,  and  has  a  very  emphatic  saying  on  the  occasion, 
which  I  do  not  exactly  recollect.  I  mention  this,  because  I  hear 
it  frequently  objected  to  the  scheme  of  embodying  negroes,  that 
they  are  too  stupid  to  make  soldiers.  This  is  so  far  from  appearing 
to  me  a  valid  objection,  that  I  think  their  want  of  cultivation 
(for  their  natural  faculties  are  probably  as  good  as  ours),  joined 
to  that  habit  of  subordination  which  they  acquire  from  a  life  of 
servitude,  will  make  them  sooner  become  soldiers  than  our 
white  inhabitants.  Let  officers  be  men  of  sense  and  sentiment; 
and  the  nearer  the  soldiers  approach  to  machines,  perhaps  the 
better. 

"  I  foresee  that  this  project  will  have  to  combat  much  oppo- 
sition from  prejudice  and  self-interest.  The  contempt  we  have 
been  taught  to  entertain  for  the  blacks  makes  us  fancy  many 
things  that  are  founded  neither  in  reason  nor  experience ;  and 
an  unwillingness  to  part  with  property  of  so  valuable  a  kind 
will  furnish  a  thousand  arguments  to  show  the  impracticability 
or  pernicious  tendency  of  a  scheme  which  requires  such  a  sac- 
rifice. Butit  should  be  considered,  that,  if  we  do  not  make  use 
of  them  in  this  way,  the  enemy  probalily  will ;  and  that  the 
best  way  to  counteract  the  temptations  they  will  hold  out  will 
be  to  ofier  them  ourselves.  An  essential  part  of  the  plan  is  to  give 
them  their  freedom  with  their  muskets.  This  will  secure  their 
fidelity,  animate  their  courage,  and,  I  believe,  will  have  a  good 
effect  upon  those  who  remain,  by  opening  a  door  to  their  eman- 
cipation. This  circumstance,  I  confess,  has  no  small  weight  in 
inducing  me  to  wish  the  success  of  the  project;  for  the  dictates 
of  humanity,  and  true  policy,  equally  interest  me  in  favor  of 
this  unfortunate  class  of  men. 

"  With  the  truest  respect  and  esteem, 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obed't  serv't, 

"  Alex.  Hamilton." 

A  single  passage  from  Mr.  Bancroft's  History,  will  give  a 
succinct  and  clear  account  of  the  condition  of  the  army,  in  re- 
2 


18 

spect  to  colored  soldiers,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill: 

"  Nor  should  history  forget  to  record,  that  as  in  the  army  at 
Cambridge,  so  also  in  tliis  gallant  band,  the  free  negroes  of  the 
Colony  had  their  representatives.  For  the  right  of  free  negroes 
to  bear  arms  in  the  public  defence  was,  at  that  day,  as  little 
dispnted  in  New  England  as  their  other  rights.  They  took 
their  phice,  not  in  a  separate  corps,  but  in  the  ranks  with  the 
white  man  ;  and  their  names  may  be  read  on  the  pension  rolls 
of  tlie  countr}',  side  by  side  with  those  of  otlier  soldiers  of  the 
lievohition." 

Mr.  Everett  has  described  Peter  Salem,  a  black  man,  and 
once  a  slave,  as  having  been  among  the  most  prominent  and 
meritorious  characters  at  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  Indeed, 
the  historical  painting  of  that  scene,  by  Col.  Trumbull,  an  eye- 
witness, done  in  17S5,  gives  Peter  Salem,  with  otlier  black 
patriots,  a  conspicuous  place.  One  of  the  latter  is  thus  com- 
memorated : 

*'  To  the  Honorable  General  Court  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay: 

"  The  subscribers  beg  leave  to  report  to  your  Honorable 
House  (which  we  do  in  justice  to  the  chai'acter  of  so  brave  a 
man),  that,  under  our  own  observation,  we  declare  that  a  negro 
man,  called  Salem  Poor,  of  Col.  Frye's  regiment,  Capt.  Ames' 
company,  in  the  late  battle  at  Charlestown,  behaved  like  an 
experienced  officer,  as  well  as  an  excellent  soldier.  To  set  forth 
particulars  of  fiis  conduct  would  be  tedious.  We  would  beg 
leave  to  say,  in  the  person  of  this  said  negro,  centres  a  brave 
and  gallant  soldier.  The  reward  due  to  so  great  and  distin- 
guished a  character,  we  submit  to  the  Congress. 
"  JoNA.  Bkewek,  Col. 

Thomas  Nixox,  Lt.  Col. 

War.  Pkescott,  Col, 

Ephm.  Corey,  Lieut, 

Joseph  Bakee,  Lieut. 

Jonas  Richakdson,  Capt. 

Eliphalet  Bodwell,  Segt. 

JosiAH  Foster,  Lieut. 

Ebenk.  Yarnum,  2d  Lieut. 

Wm.  Hudson  Ballard,  Capt. 

AYiLLiAM  Smith,  Capt. 

John  Morton,  Sergt.  [?] 

Lieut.  Richard  Welsh. 
■"  Cambridge,  Dec.  5,  1755. 


19 

*'In  Council,  Dec.  21,  1775. — Read,  and  sent  down. 

"  PfiEEz  Morton, 

"  Dep'y  Sec'y." 

Patrick  ITeniy  was  the  leading  ppponent,  in  America,  of  the 
adoption  of  our  present  Constitution.  In  a  debate  on  the  ques- 
tion of  ratifying  or  rejecting  it  in  the  Virginia  State  Conven- 
tion, he  used,  in  opposing  it,  these  strangely  prophetic  words — 
witli  which  the  reading  from  the  Fathers  closes: 

"  Among  ten  thousand  implied  powers  which  they  may  as- 
sume, they  may,  if  we  be  engaged  in  war,  liberate  every  one  of 
your  slaves,  if  they  please.  And  this  must  and  will  be  done  by 
men,  a  majority  of  whom  have  not  a  common  interest  with  you. 
They  will,  therefore,  have  no  feeling  for  your  interest.  It  has 
been  repeatedly  said  here,  that  the  great  object  of  a  National 
Government  was  national  defence.  If  you  give  power  to  the 
General  Government  to  provide  for  the  general  defence,  the 
means  must  be  commensurate  to  the  end.  All  the  means  in 
the  possession  of  the  people  must  be  given  to  the  Government 
which  is  intrusted  with  the  public  defence.  In  this  State  there 
are  236,000  blacks,  and  there  are  many  in  several  other  States  ; 
but  there  are  few  or  none  in  the  Northern  Stares.  May  Con- 
gres  not  sa}''  that  every  black  man  must  fight  f  Did  we  not  see 
a  little  of  this  last  war  ?  We  were  not  so  hard  pushed  as  to 
make  emancipation  general :  but  acts  of  Assembly  passed,  that 
every  slave  who  would  go  tlie  Army  should  be  free.  Another 
thing  will  contribute  to  bring  this  event  about :  slavery  is  de- 
tested— we  feel  its  fatal  efi'ects — we  deplore  it  with  all  the  pity 
of  humanity.  Let  all  these  considerations,  at  some  future 
period,  press  with  fnll  force  on  the  minds  of  Congress.  Let 
that  humanity  whicli  I  trust  will  distinguish  America,  and  the 
necessity  of  national  defence — let  all  these  things  operate  on 
their  minds;  they  will  search  that  paper,  and  see  if  they  have 
power  of  manumission.  And  have  they  not,  sir  ?  Have  they 
not  power  to  provide  for  the  general  defence  and  welfare  ?  May 
they  not  think  that  these  call  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  ?  May 
not  they  pronounce  all  slaves  free,  and  will  they  not  be  war- 
ranted by  that  power?  There  is  no  ambiguous  implication  or 
logical  deduction.  The  i>aper  speaks  to  the  point.  They  have 
the  power,  in  clear,  unequivocal  terms,  and  will  clearly  and 
certainly  exercise  it." 


»^ 


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OFFICERS  OF  THE 

LOYAL   PUBLICATION   SOCIETY 

§63    BROAO^VAY,    NEW    YORK. 


President. 

CHARLES  KING. 

Treasurer. 

MORRIS  KETCHUM. 

Secretary. 

JOHN  AUSTIN  STEVENS,  Jr. 

Finnnce  Committee. 

CHARLES  BUTLER,  Chairmak. 

GEORGE  GRISWOLD,  JACKSON  S.  SCHULTZ, 

MORRIS  KETCHUM,  A.  C.  RICHARDS, 

CHARLES  H.  MARSHALL,  L.  P.  MORTON, 

HENRY  A.  HURLBUT,  SETH  B.  HUNT, 

THOMAS  N.  DALE,  DAVID  DOWS, 

WILLIAM  A.  HAII-,  '  JOSIAH  M,  FISKB, 

T.  B.  CODDINGTON,  JAMES  McKAYK 

Pultllcndon   Committee. 

FRANCIS  LIEBER,  Chairman. 
G   P.  LOWREY,  Secretary. 

'Executive  Committee. 

WILLIAM  T.  BLODGETT,  Chairmax. 
GEORGE  WARD  NICHOLS,  Skcretarv. 


r 


!     i 


The  Loyal  Publication  Societv  Las  already  itisued  a  large 
number  of  Slips  and  Pamphlets  wliicli  have  been  widely  cir- 
culated.    Amongst  the  most  important  are  the  following : 

No.   1.  Future  of  the  North  West^  by  Robert  Dale  Owen. 

2.  Echo  from  the  Army. 

3.  Union  Mass  Meeting.^  Speeches  of  Brady ^ 

Van  Buren^  &c. 

4.  Three  Voices-   the  Soldier^  Farmer  and  Poet. 

5.  Voices  from  the  Army. 

6.  Northern  True  Men. 

7.  Speech  of  Major- General  Butler. 

8.  Separation  j    War  luithout  Fnd.     Ed.  Laboulaye. 

9.  The  Venom  and  the  Antidote. 

10.  A  feiv  ivords  in  behalf  of  the  Loyal   Women  of  the 

United  Stcdes^  by  One  of  Themselves. 

11.  No  Failure  for  the  North.     Atlantic  Monthly. 

12.  Address  to  King  Cotton.    Eugene  Pelletan. 

13.  Hoio  a  Free  People  conduct  a  long  War.    Stille. 
-  14.   The  Preservation  of  the  Union ^  a  National 

Economic  necessity. 

15.  Elements  of  Discord  in  Secessia,  tDc,  cOc. 

16.  No  Party  now.,  all  for  Our  Country. 

Dr.  Francis  Lieber. 

17.  The  Cause  of  the  War'.    CoL  Charles  Anderson. 

18.  Opinions   of  the'^ Early   Presidents^    and  of  the 

Fathers  of  the  Republic  upon  Slavery^    and 
%(pon  Negroes  as  Men  and  Soldiers. 


Loyal  Leagues,  Clubs,  or  individuals  may  obtain  any  of  our 
Publications  at  the  cost  price,  by  application  to  the  Executive 
Committee,  or  by  calling  at  the  Pooms  of  the  Society,  No.  8G3 
Broadway,  where  all  information  may  be  obtained  relating  to 
the  Society. 


